Support NeoGAF

[sixghost]

Has anyone here played Shadow Tower?

I stumbled upon it by chance after noticing that the cover of the game was eerily similar to some of the Demon's Souls/Dark Souls covers. Turns out it was made by FROM. The game controls like shit, but it's so reminiscent of Dark Souls its scary.

I'm only like an hour or two in, and I really have no idea what I'm doing, but it's pretty fun. It's fun to see FROM experimenting with all the shitty things they can do to you in games like these. I've already had skeletons pop out of graves after I looted their tombstone, fallen through floor, and just been completely creeped out by the ambient sound.

The only hint I've received as to the structure of the game was from a giant hamster who gave me some money then rolled away into a hole in the cave wall after telling me that 6 dimensions are run by 6 powerful demons. So it seems like there is a hub world(Shadow Tower), and 6 different dimensions that you can reach through some teleporting tombstone things.

So far, it's done a very good job recreating the feeling of my first Dark Souls playthrough, and the game is genuinely scary at times. It's a shame the game was never put on PC, as the controls are a nightmare. Up/down on the dpad moves you forward and back, left/right turns out, and L2/R2 make you look up/down. It doesn't help that tons of enemies are either extremely small or hang from the ceiling.

I doubt many of you have played this, since I could hardly find a single reference to Shadow Tower on GAF, or anywhere on the internet for that matter.

 

[Orayn]

Oh hell, I've been meaning to pick this one up. I do have a comment about the controls, though - You get used to it pretty quickly. I've been playing a lot of King's Field IV which has the same control scheme, and it becomes second nature after a while. The slow turning rate is a real pain, but it only gives the general creepiness and ambience of the game more gravitas when you can't just wheel around and respond to noises instantly.

 

[Foffy]

Oh hell, I've been meaning to pick this one up. I do have a comment about the controls, though - You get used to it pretty quickly. I've been playing a lot of King's Field IV which has the same control scheme, and it becomes second nature after a while. The slow turning rate is a real pain, but it only gives the general creepiness and ambience of the game more gravitas when you can't just wheel around and respond to noises instantly.

What makes the Shadow Tower games a little more atmospheric is that there are only two songs in the game: one for the demo reel and I think the other is at the title screen.

The rest of the game features no music at all. This adds to the spook factor more than what the KF games do, and it has a smaller draw distance than the PS1 titles.

 

[sixghost]

Oh hell, I've been meaning to pick this one up. I do have a comment about the controls, though - You get used to it pretty quickly. I've been playing a lot of King's Field IV which has the same control scheme, and it becomes second nature after a while. The slow turning rate is a real pain, but it only gives the general creepiness and ambience of the game more gravitas when you can't just wheel around and respond to noises instantly.

I think the draw distance and the lack of recognizable landmarks is what's really going to get me in the end. I'm already getting hopelessly lost. Dark Souls was really good about giving you unique and prominent landmarks in all but a few areas, but so far it's just be lots of dark caves and dungeons.

I'm really enjoying it so far, but it just feels inevitable that I'm going to get stuck somewhere.

 

[Mejilan]

I hear that the JP-only PS2 sequel (Shadow Tower Abyss) recently got a fan translation patch...

 

[Foffy]

I hear that the JP-only PS2 sequel (Shadow Tower Abyss) recently got a fan translation patch...

That it did.

 

[John Harker]

One of my favorite games. The guy at Babbages all those years ago... laughed at me when I asked for it. Laugh. The nerve.

I know a classic when I sees one!

I miss ASCII ENTERTAINMENT, Agetec, etc etc...

Spoiler

not that those names mean anything anymore

 

[Aselith]

Oh hell, I've been meaning to pick this one up. I do have a comment about the controls, though - You get used to it pretty quickly. I've been playing a lot of King's Field IV which has the same control scheme, and it becomes second nature after a while. The slow turning rate is a real pain, but it only gives the general creepiness and ambience of the game more gravitas when you can't just wheel around and respond to noises instantly.

I'd watch ebay closely. I bought a brand new copy from there for like $18 a few months back.

 

[~Kinggi~]

Boxart is fucked up.

 

[perfectnight]

God damn I'm loving that cover.

 

[DidntKnowJack]

Just curious, OP, but have you ever played any of the King's Field titles? They're very similar to this game.

 

[sixghost]

Just curious, OP, but have you ever played any of the King's Field titles? They're very similar to this game.

I watched a bit of a Let's Play and decided against trying it since it just looked way too slow and weird to control.

I ended up buying this sight unseen and was pretty disappointed when I realized the game was so similar, but I got past the controls very quickly and am really enjoying it so far.

If I end up making it through this one, I'll definitely try to track down a copy of a King's Field game.

 

[Aselith]

I watched a bit of a Let's Play and decided against trying it since it just looked way too slow and weird to control.

I ended up buying this sight unseen and was pretty disappointed when I realized the game was so similar, but I got past the controls very quickly and am really enjoying it so far.

If I end up making it through this one, I'll definitely try to track down a copy of a King's Field game.

I tell you what, I got an extra copy of King Field: The Ancient City when I was tracking down the copy I'm going to keep. It's a little scratched and also doesn't have the manual but it's still in pretty good shape so if you want to pay the couple of bucks for shipping, I'll send it to you. I think you'll really enjoy it if you're a fan of From's other RPG stuff.

 

[jay]

I don't really like the PS1 Kings Fields but still want to get this and the Japanese sequel. Any chance I'll enjoy them? My problem with KF is mostly that I can feel my hair slowly turn grey as I play it. The posts above seem to say no but I think I am hoping someone convinces me anyway.

 

[Alexios]

Eternal Ring seems to move at a much faster pace going by youtube videos. It's by From also and Looks similar to KF.

I dunno if it's considered good or bad by fans.

 

[hateradio]

I played the Demo on a PS Underground disc. Sadly, I never actually played the whole game.

Boxart is fucked up.

I can't unsee the penis.

 

[Teknoman]

I can't unsee the penis.

 

[See You Next Wednesday]

I never touched the old From Software first person RPG games from the obvious control issues & general dungeon crawling look of them. After playing DkrS & DeS & people mentioning that the same excellent non-linear, clever & imaginative game design was present in them makes me want to try them out. I always had those games pegged as random dungeon crawlers, never knew they could have been so good.

It's just the controls & combat seem to be such a hurdle for me to get past especially since they were bad for me 10 years ago before standards risen even more.

 

[Orayn]

I never touched the old From Software first person RPG games from the obvious control issues & general dungeon crawling look of them. After playing DkrS & DeS & people mentioning that the same excellent non-linear, clever & imaginative game design was present in them makes me want to try them out. I always had those games pegged as random dungeon crawlers, never knew they could have been so good.

It's just the controls & combat seem to be such a hurdle for me to get past especially since they were bad for me 10 years ago before standards risen even more.

I like how much perspective I get from playing them - Yes, King's Field IV is pretty dated, but comparing it to Dark Souls is like looking at a From Software family photo album and seeing the series during its days as a bachelor. Also, if you can get past the slow pace and clunky controls, there's a ton of awesome level design and atmosphere to enjoy, just like the Souls games.

 

[Aselith]

I never touched the old From Software first person RPG games from the obvious control issues & general dungeon crawling look of them. After playing DkrS & DeS & people mentioning that the same excellent non-linear, clever & imaginative game design was present in them makes me want to try them out. I always had those games pegged as random dungeon crawlers, never knew they could have been so good.

It's just the controls & combat seem to be such a hurdle for me to get past especially since they were bad for me 10 years ago before standards risen even more.

I'm playing them via emulator and you can modify them so they control like a modern FPS via the emu settings. I actually have a control profile for King's Field 4 in PCSx2 if you want it at some point. Just send me a PM if it's a ways down the road.

 

[Orayn]

I'm playing them via emulator and you can modify them so they control like a modern FPS via the emu settings. I actually have a control profile for King's Field 4 in PCSx2 if you want it at some point. Just send me a PM if it's a ways down the road.

I tried this too, but the differing (and slow) horizontal and vertical turn/look speeds always sent me back to the original control scheme.

I am, however, really looking forward to tracking down a copy of Shadow Tower Abyss, which supposedly has full analog support.

 

[Dascu]

The sequel, Shadow Tower Abyss, got a translation patch recently.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Not sure about the game, but that cover is not T for Teen.

 

[locomotic]

The From Software's masterpiece, no doubt about it. The sequel is good too (it's playable in japanese), but sadly it bombed hard in Japan... and the story behind the overseas distribution of the title is quite of hilarious and it shows how incompetent is SCEA.

We need a english patch for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BWuXHZ_Y9s
It's a similar game to Shadow Tower and it's directed by Tokuro Fujiwara.

 

[Yuterald]

The From Software's masterpiece, no doubt about it. The sequel is good too (it's playable in japanese), but sadly it bombed hard in Japan... and the story behind the overseas distribution of the title is quite of hilarious and it shows how incompetent is SCEA.

Yeah, it's kind of funny when people endlessly bitch and complain about NOA's incompetence for not bringing over the three Operation Rainfall titles when SCEA was doing the same kind of shit back then too (also see Working Design's Goemon). I remember my brother and I talking to Mark Johnson on the Agetec forums when Shadow Tower Abyss was about to be released and the whole situation with SCEA sounded like bullshit. Such a shame because Shadow Tower Abyss is TECHNICALLY the most sound and modernized "Dark RPG" to play. It's the only first person RPG From created that utilized dual analog sticks.

Anyway, the original Shadow Tower is awesome. I grew up with King's Field and when I saw that Shadow Tower was a spin off to the series my brother and I immediately jumped on it. I have always felt like Shadow Tower was the original Demon's Souls. Demon's/Dark Souls, to me, are Shadow Tower 3 and 4. Shadow Tower definitely shares similarities to their PS3 counterparts. It's incredibly dark and moody, there is no music, tons of enemy variety, and it's very challenging. Equipment breaks, you have to repair your stuff with your HP, etc. It's a pretty ruthless experience. Sounds like Demon's/Dark Souls, right? I will say though that the original ST is a tough game to sell, especially nowadays. I will admit that the control scheme is dated, but the rest of the game is just too cool and otherworldly to ignore. I would still recommend it to fans of From's newer Dark RPGs.

Shadow Tower Abyss on the other hand is incredible. The control scheme was modernized as they finally introduced first person dual analog. The atmosphere was darker and the enemy designs were just as crazy. The coolest thing about the game was the fact that you could slice off enemy body parts. You could slice off a monster's arm holding a spear and they couldn't attack you with their weapon. Instead they would just hop around and lunge at you. You could snipe a flying enemy's wings off and they would fall to the surface and walk towards you instead. So fucking cool. I wish From would get rid of that havoc engine, floppy physics shit and go back to the body part idea.

My brother and a friend of mine imported the game a few years back and we finally played through it in Japanese. It was so much more perfect than we could have imagined. We couldn't understand shit, but not knowing what was going on almost made the experience better than if we knew what was happening, lol! Now that the fan translation is out we booted it up the other day and started a new playthrough to see all the dialogue...and holy shit do some of the NPCs and monsters say the coolest stuff ever, hah!

 

[Night_Trekker]

I fucking love this game. I've been wanting to play the PS2 sequel for a long time, but it never made it out of Japan.

Any of you KF fans ever read about the Sword of Moonlight PC software? Apparently you can create your own King's Field-style game with it. I think it's been fan translated for a while now.

The sequel, Shadow Tower Abyss, got a translation patch recently.

OH SHIT. It's on now, son.

Eternal Ring seems to move at a much faster pace going by youtube videos. It's by From also and Looks similar to KF.

I dunno if it's considered good or bad by fans.

Eternal Ring is okay. Decent soundtrack, bland and forgettable storyline and characters, weird and sometimes silly enemy designs. It has a greater emphasis on the use of magic rings than King's Field and Shadow Tower's melee combat (though there is plenty of that, too). It uses the same archaic control scheme as the PS1 King's Field games (which made sense on a console that didn't have analog sticks as an option at the time)--the L and R buttons look up and down, leaving the analog sticks for... nothing, strangely. It's not up to the quality of its other FROM SOFTWARE-developed brethren, and it's very obviously an early PS2 game (maybe even a launch title, I can't remember). I wouldn't be surprised if it had been planned for the PS1 at some point.

If you really love King's Field and Shadow Tower, Eternal Ring might be worth playing. I'm not sorry I bought or played it, though it's unlikely I'll ever finished it. It's extremely common and therefore cheap and easy to find used.

 

[sixghost]

super bump

It only took 2 months, and there was a gap of about a month where I didn't touch the game, but I finished it.

I'm not sure I liked it as much as I did at the beginning. Later on, the level design fell off and abandoned the traps and surprises of the early levels, and turned into a fairly straight forward dungeon crawl with lots of hidden doors.

The combat really left a lot to be desired, and it just drove home the fact that a huge part of the reason why I love Dark Souls is because the combat is so well done. Every fight in the game was easily exploitable, and I think I only died once, which just so happened to be to the final boss.

I still really enjoyed it, but more from the view of playing one of the games that FROM created on their way to discovering the Demon's/Dark Souls formula. The game sorely missed all the beautiful open areas and huge landmarks that Dark Souls' world had. With a few exceptions, all the dungeons were extremely similar.

Like I said though, despite all that I really enjoyed it and am glad I stumbled upon the game. I imagine a lot of the flaws in this game were unfortunate consequences of being hamstrung by the hardware, as the PS1 could barely keep the FPS up as is. Hopefully one day I'll pick up a PS3 for cheap so I can play the King's Field games for PS2, and finally play Demon's Souls.

 

[Undubbed]

Played the japanese demo on a Playstation Underground CD quite a few times. LOVED it! Was kinda under the impression that it wasn't released here, but I guess it did?

 

[Foffy]

super bump

It only took 2 months, and there was a gap of about a month where I didn't touch the game, but I finished it.

I'm not sure I liked it as much as I did at the beginning. Later on, the level design fell off and abandoned the traps and surprises of the early levels, and turned into a fairly straight forward dungeon crawl with lots of hidden doors.

The combat really left a lot to be desired, and it just drove home the fact that a huge part of the reason why I love Dark Souls is because the combat is so well done. Every fight in the game was easily exploitable, and I think I only died once, which just so happened to be to the final boss.

I still really enjoyed it, but more from the view of playing one of the games that FROM created on their way to discovering the Demon's/Dark Souls formula. The game sorely missed all the beautiful open areas and huge landmarks that Dark Souls' world had. With a few exceptions, all the dungeons were extremely similar.

Like I said though, despite all that I really enjoyed it and am glad I stumbled upon the game. I imagine a lot of the flaws in this game were unfortunate consequences of being hamstrung by the hardware, as the PS1 could barely keep the FPS up as is. Hopefully one day I'll pick up a PS3 for cheap so I can play the King's Field games for PS2, and finally play Demon's Souls.

If you have a good PC, I think all of the games are fully emulated on PS1/PS2 emulators.

 

[bullet_happy]

Played it today! First time...I really want to finish that game, something it's really awesome with it, From Software hidden magic maybe...I don't know